SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA - FANS VS. FAVORITES

If those idjits had thought about it for one minute, they could have blindsided Ozzy without Chet.

Chet votes for whomever - he can’t vote for himself, so, oh, let’s say he votes Cirie.

Ami, Erik, Tracy vote Ozzy
Ozzy, Cirie, Amanda vote Chet.

Results in 3-3 tie Ozzy and Chet

The only variable that I am unaware of that could throw a monkey wrench in this plan (and of course, they might know about is if Ozzy would be allowed to play HII before re-vote; I don’t know why you would be allowed to).

Ozzy and Chet can’t participate in the re-vote.
Ami, Erik, Tracy vote Ozzy
Cirie, Amanda vote Chet

Ozzy loses 3-2. These @#$%$# didn’t even REALIZE that they didn’t even need Chet’s vote.

We’re down to 13 contestants. If they’re doing a final 3 with 9 jury members, that means that one of the people who leaves next week (if there are two) becomes the first member of the jury.

Remember the good old days, when all the people on the jury actually, ya know, made the merge?

I wondered about that . . . just hadn’t taken the time to think it through. And Jill is right about “a lucky move for Jason.” I don’t think he had a clue that he was actually making a brilliant move.

Greetings all, its time once again for your:

SURVIVOR RECAP!

The New Airai Tribe: Orange Buffs
Alexis, Eliza, James, Jason, Kathy. Parvati, and Natalie

The New Malakal Tribe: Purple Buffs
Amanda, Ami, Cirie, Erik, Ozzy and Tracy

The Losers:
Jonny Jackass, Mary, Yau-Man, Mikey B., Joel, Jonathan, Chet

A MEDICAL EVACUATION AND A VOTE: TWO SURVIVORS LEAVE THE GAME

After sustaining an injury at a previous Reward Challenge, Jonathan Penner, the 46 year-old writer/producer from Los Angeles, was medically pulled from the game when the open wound above his knee became infected, risking his life. The Survivor Medical Team’s only course of action was to undergo immediate surgery on the infected area, and a tearful and heartbroken Jonathan became the sixth person to exit the game. Jonathan's parting words: "Couldn't have tried any better. Couldn't have fought any harder. It was fun while it lasted."

Set to face Tribal Council for the second time in a row, an exhausted and ailing Chet asked his tribe to take him out of the game, complaining of an infected wound in his heel. At first, the tribe agreed to grant his wish and send him home. However, Tracy and Erik needed Chet's vote one more time. Tracy had convinced Ami, a Favorite, to vote with them to make a solid four, and so they begged Chet to say in the game long enough to help take out their biggest threat, Ozzy. But at Tribal Council, Chet opted not to vote with his cohorts, and he was sent home five votes to two. Chet, the 49 year-old pageant coach from Ford City, Pennsylvania, leaves behind his final words: "I decided at the end not to go with Tracy and Erik's plan to blindside Ozzy. I just felt that that's something they can take care of after I'm gone. I'm very proud of the way I played the game. I may be going out now, but I lasted a lot longer than some people thought I would. I am so honored to be part of the Survivor family forever. It has been a great experience and thank you again."

Never Saw It Coming
The Malakal tribe returns from Tribal Council where the Favorites had orchestrated a vote to take out a major physical threat, the Fans' Joel. Erik feels on the outs at Malakal as the only member not included in the plan to oust Joel. Sitting around the campfire, Erik blurts out, "I was shocked by that vote..." But the tribe ignores him as they get ready for bed. A shaken Erik finds himself alone by the fire, realizing he has to step up his game. "Those guys are tough as nails," declares Erik. "You cannot trust the Favorites at all."

Tracy's New Friend
As morning dawns at Malakal, Tracy regrets the previous night's outcome. "It was so hard to vote off Joel. [The Favorites] had four, and [the Fans] had four. We should have gained control against the Favorites." Hoping to rectify her mistake, Tracy plants a seed in Erik's head that the Favorites will continue to target the Fans, starting with him. "That pisses me off," Erik moans. Tracy explains that with their two votes plus Chet's making three, they'll only need to pull in one of the Favorites to have the numbers advantage and a fighting chance. Erik agrees. With three votes locked in, Tracy looks for the crack in the Favorites' alliance. She sets her sights on Ami and takes her for a walk along the beach. Ami plays right into Tracy's hands, candidly admitting she's on the bottom rung with the Favorites. "I was never a part of the original alliance between James, Parvati, Cirie, Amanda, and Ozzy, so I'm also in a very vulnerable situation," says Ami. "Maybe I need to play the game a little differently."

A Leg Up
As Airai wakes up and begins their day, Jonathan works on the fire, being sure to stay off his wounded knee. James watches Jonathan limp around camp and is concerned about his health. "Hopefully he'll be all right because losing Jonathan would be a big blow to the team," says James. "I'd be stuck over here with a bunch of girls, losing my mind." Despite the wound, Jonathan maintains his good spirits, telling Eliza how excited he is about the tribe switch-up. Eliza agrees, exclaiming, "I was given new life by this switch-up." Eliza goes so far as to say that Fans vs. Favorites is over in her mind. "“I think once we earn the Fans' trust," Eliza plots, "Jonathan and I are gonna try to work with them and definitely get rid of Parvati and James before there’s any type of merge." A fired up Jonathan tells Eliza, "The game is about to get on. It’s all good."

Reward Challenge: Build It Up, Break It Down
Airai and Malakal step onto their mats, and Jeff Probst explains the rules. Both tribes will swim across a lagoon to a floating platform to collect several bundles of planks, sticks, and rope. They’ll race back to shore where two 15 foot-long bamboo-cage tunnels await them. Tribes will have ten minutes to use their gathered materials to build a blockade in the opposing tribe’s tunnel. When time’s up, the tribes will then race to tear down the blockade the other tribe built in their own tunnel. The first tribe to get all their members through their barricaded tunnel and onto their tribe mat wins Reward. Two native Micronesian Fishermen will visit the winning tribe’s camp and teach the Survivors how to live off the land. In addition, the winning tribe will choose a member from both tribes to go to Exile Island.

On "Go," both tribes race across the lagoon heading for their bundles of materials. Ozzy reaches the floating platform first for Malakal with Airai's Jason close behind. They disperse their materials amongst their tribemates, swimming the bundles of sticks, planks, and rope back to shore. Malakal hits the beach first and begins building their blockade in Airai’s tunnel. Upon Airai's return to the beach, the tribe crams sticks and planks into the framework of the Malakal tunnel, trying to find the best way to obstruct the passage. Jonathan limps around on his leg trying to help Airai as best he can, crisscrossing sticks and ramming planks to form complicated walls in Malakal’s tunnel until Jeff calls, "Switch!" The tribes scramble to their tunnels, racing to tear down each other’s blockades. Ripping at the rope with their fingers and teeth, tearing away planks, Malakal takes an early lead as they crawl up and over the maze of sticks and planks, into the middle of their tunnel. Airai, still at the start of their tunnel dismantling the blockade, realizes that Malakal spent all of their time and supplies building at the front end of the bamboo tunnel leaving the rest of the blockade thin. The Airai tribe squeezes through the last of their tunnel, dragging Jonathan and Kathy out of the cage and onto their mat, winning Reward. Airai sends Chet and Jason to Exile Island, and Malakal goes home empty handed. But before Airai can head back to camp for their reward, Jeff announces that the Survivor Medical Team needs to examine Jonathan’s knee.

Jonathan's Last Stand
Tucked away in the trees beside the challenge course, a worried Airai tribe and Jeff Probst watch as a doctor from the Survivor Medical Team examines Jonathan's wound. Inspecting the large area of infection, she tells him, "This is going to need intravenous antibiotics, probably needs surgical wash-out. It's not going to be a quick fix." Jonathan refuses to accept this diagnosis and exclaims, "I'm not quitting!" But the doctor lays out the very dire set of circumstances. "An infection that goes into your blood stream is potentially fatal," she cautions. Jonathan chokes up, the severity of the situation finally hitting him. Jeff Probst asks for clarification, and the doctor spells it out very clearly for both Jonathan and the emotional Airai tribe. She warns, "I can only recommend for the sake of his leg and his life that he leave the game now.

He needs hospital treatment. It's not going to get better, it will just get worse." Jonathan bows his head and finally gives in, bursting into tears, "Okay, let's go. Go to the hospital." One-by-one, he hugs his teary Airai tribe good-bye. "I'm sad to see him go," sobs Kathy. "He was like the pillar of strength around camp." Jonathan waves goodbye to Jeff and his tribe and climbs aboard the medical boat. As the boat speeds away, Jonathan puts on a brave face and declares, "Couldn't have tried any better. Couldn’t have fought any harder. It was fun while it lasted."

Survivor School
The Airai tribe returns to camp, shocked by Jonathan's sudden removal. James especially misses Jonathan's presence now that he’s on a tribe with five women and begins to feel vulnerable. "I'm with a bunch of girls, and I'm not that persuasive in the verbal manner to woo people on my side and they are," complains James. "If I make it to the merge, it’s all good. But the chances of me making it… this is not in my favor right now!"

Two Micronesian fishermen paddle a small canoe up to the Airai beach and disembark with armfuls of vegetables, fruits, spices, liquor, tools, and fishing equipment. Airai happily greets them, excited to learn from the skilled locals. The fishermen show Airai how to set traps for the coconut crabs and to fish with a simple hook and line. Pulling in fish after fish, Parvati proves to be a quick study. "I think this is one of the best rewards we’ve gotten," gushes Parvati. "We can actually continually use this knowledge and come out here and fish in the morning. It’s going to be amazing for us."

Ami and Tracy Make A Plan
Ami listens in as Amanda, Ozzy, and Cirie bash the Fans on Malakal for their poor performance in the challenge. Cirie scoffs, "You know what's getting on my nerves? Not only do you have to play the game, but you have to teach [the Fans] the game, too." Ami grows annoyed by what she calls the constant "fan-bashing". She leaves the group of Favorites for some peace and quite and runs into Tracy. Feeling sorry for the Fans, Ami suggests to Tracy that they should stick together and help each other out. Tracy’s interests are piqued and she tests the waters with Ami asking, "How tight are you and Cirie?" Ami admits she doesn't trust Cirie. Tracy goes in for the kill and proposes to Ami if she will vote for Cirie, then Chet, Erik and herself would too. Knowing that she's on the outs with the Favorites, Ami takes this into consideration: "I'm really conflicted right now. The thing is I just don't trust Cirie. I just don't. She screwed me over once when she voted out Yau-Man and I feel it coming again." When Tracy sweetens the deal by pledging her undying trust and loyalty, Ami goes all in and tells both Tracy and Erik, "Hey, I'm giving all my trust to you. Take care of me." Meanwhile, Ozzy relaxes with the Favorites, lounging on the beach and enjoying a coconut. He wonders about Jason's progress at Exile Island and mischievously speculates, "I really want Jason to find the fake [Idol] because from what I've heard he might be naïve enough to believe that it’s the real one and use it in some manner that might end up getting him voted off."

A Stick
On Exile Island, Chet complains to Jason that he's not feeling well because of an infection on his heel. "The other day in one of the challenges I got a piece of coral sort of wedged up into my foot and it really hurts like really bad," moans Chet, opting to rest instead of searching for the Hidden Immunity Idol. While Chet recuperates on the beach, Jason takes the opportunity to search for the Idol alone. He canvasses Exile's tiny islands quickly, moving from one clue to the next. The fourth clue leads him to the rock under which Ozzy stashed the fake Idol and Jason unearths it with a resounding, "There we go, baby!" He settles down on a rocky perch and unwraps the fake Idol. Jason studies the small, whittled stick with a crude face carved in it. Slowly a sly smile spreads across his face. "Well, I guess this is the Hidden Immunity Idol," gloats Jason. "This means Ozzy doesn't have it, I have it. So this is really good for me." He pumps his fist in the air and exclaims, "Sweet!"

Late Night Feast
Just after sundown, the Fishermen and Airai tribe check the crab traps they had set. They find two crabs munching on the coconut-baited traps and take them back to their fire for crab and fish stew. With the wine and spices giving the stew a flavorful kick, the tribe is ecstatic about their grand dinner. "I think we had twenty-five different types of fish tonight on top of all the incredible seasonings that [the fishermen] brought with them," exclaims Alexis. "They’re just showing us how to do it."

Immunity Challenge: United We Stand
Arriving at the Immunity Challenge, the Malakal tribe as well as Jason and Chet returning from Exile Island, are stunned to see Jonathan missing from Airai. Jeff Probst explains Jonathan’s departure. "He's doing fine," assures Jeff. "We are now even. Seven-seven again. The game continues." Jeff explains the rules of the Immunity Challenge. Tribes will transport two tribemates from one tower to the next, in waist-deep water, using giant stepping poles that the rest of the tribe must support. The tribe members making the crossing will effectively leapfrog from one pole to the other across the lagoon to the second platform. Once both tribemates are transported, the entire tribe must then climb atop a third and final tower and squeeze onto a tiny wooden platform. The first tribe with all seven members on or above the top platform wins Immunity.

The tribes race to get hold of their stepping poles as Eliza and Parvati climb the first tower to do the crossing for Airai. Ami and Tracy prepare to cross for Malakal. While Tracy climbs aboard the Malakal stepping pole and begins her journey across the lagoon, Airai comes up with a completely different strategy of how to get Eliza across. Once she is perched on the stepping pole, James literally carries her across the water as the remaining Airai lend what support they can in keeping the pole upright and steady. Within minutes Airai deposits Eliza safely on the second tower and head back for Parvati. Meanwhile Malakal falls farther and father behind slowly using both poles to transport the teetering Tracy. Incorporating the same strategy to transport Parvati, Airai drops her once, but recovers, and still manages to lap the struggling Malakal, to deposit Parvati on the second platform. Malakal, far behind now, finally gets Tracy across the lagoon and returns to the first tower to get Ami as Airai climbs onto the third and final tower. Hanging onto James as an anchor they shuffle to accommodate all seven bodies on the tower’s small platform. With the last of the tribe above the tower’s top platform, Airai wins Immunity and their fourth straight victory, sending Malakal to Tribal Council for the second time in a row.

Chet the X-Factor
Malakal returns to their camp facing yet another Tribal Council, and Chet begs his tribe to vote him out so he can take care of his infected foot. They gasp as he holds up his heel, showing them the infection that’s brewing. He pleads, "I gotta go tonight. That’s it, I can't. I have no choice. Please, just help me out, okay?" Ozzy hugs him good-bye, but out of earshot from Chet, Ozzy jokes, "All right, Chet, we'll vote you out. Was there any question anyways?!" Chet's resignation from the game is devastating news to Tracy and Erik who had only just convinced Ami to vote with them to take out Cirie. They commiserate together in the cave, Erik telling Tracy, "We need him so bad just so we can get Cirie out, or Ozzy even." With their suspicions that Ozzy could have the Hidden Immunity Idol, their attention turns towards taking him out and they hurry down to the shelter to beg Chet to vote with them. Ami is there, too, and catches wind of their plan to flip the script on Ozzy. "I'm definitely going to have to deal with Ozzy at some point," Ami thinks. "So if Tracy and Erik convince Chet to stay in the game and make a vote, I would vote with them." With time running out before Tribal Council, Erik begs Chet to stick it out long enough to vote with them against Ozzy, "Me and Tracy would be so grateful, we would be amazingly grateful [if] you could use your last dying breath to do something for us in this game." An exhausted Chet reluctantly says he'll think about it. He weighs his options: have the tribe vote him out and avoid medical catastrophe, or stay in just long enough to help his two allies take out Ozzy, their biggest threat.

Tribal Council
At Tribal Council, Ozzy is put on the hot seat, deflecting questions of whether or not he possesses the Hidden Immunity Idol. Ozzy argues that it's a moot point because the choice tonight is obvious. He states, "Let's be honest with each other right now. Chet's going home tonight. And if somehow everyone is not voting that way than I have no business being here." Chet fires back warning, "The way it's been in every Tribal Council, there always seems to be an obvious person [going home] but it never turns out to be that person." However, Tracy and Erik's plan falls through when Chet decides not to vote with them and Ozzy slips by. Chet receives five votes and becomes the seventh person to leave SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA -- FANS VS. FAVORITES.

I’ll be back Wednesday (Due to March Madness) morning with this weeks picks. So till then,
Take care,

FReepmail me if you want added to (or removed from) the Survivor Ping List.

That would have been an interesting immunity challenge if they hadn’t gotten rid of big guy Joel the week before. They were left with no one strong enough to do what James did. Stupid!! That is why they wound up at tribal council, because of Cirie’s strategy. Ozzy is so dumb for following her.

Cirie’s playing a game that’s best for Cirie. Ozzy should realize that following her is not the best game for Ozzy.

The following are two interviews by RealityNewsOnline.com’s David Bloomberg.
First is with Jonathan followed by Chet.

Both interviews answered most of my questions regarding last week’s episode.

An Interview with Survivor: Micronesia’s Jonathan
by David Bloomberg -- 03/17/2008

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Jonathan, and thanks for taking the time to talk to RealityNewsOnline! First, how is your knee?

Jonathan: My knee is a lot better and it is recovering. It is still quite stiff and sore, but it is a lot better. I hope to have 100% recovery, but there may be some long term issues – we’re not sure.

RNO: How long did recovery take?

Jonathan: It’s ongoing. I was in the hospital for a couple days and then moved to a hotel for treatment because the hospital was difficult, then I was flown out to a western style hospital where I was treated further and I was stitched up. Seventeen to twenty days, then ongoing here at home.

RNO: You seemed to be pushing through the pain – how bad was it?

Jonathan: It was bad. But I’m a big minimizer. It hurt and the pain got worse because the infection got worse. I would’ve stayed out as long as it was safe enough to do so. The doctor basically said I couldn’t stay out any longer, it was far too dangerous. I think the truth is they wish they’d taken me out a day earlier.

RNO: Do you think this edition of Survivor was more physical and dangerous than your original time out?

Jonathan: No, I think it was muddier. There was a lot more rain. I think that was the biggest difference. The first time out, I played hurt, but I did not get hurt. This time I played fit and got hurt. Chet’s injury was interesting – something the Favorites knew and had learned the hard way was that the worst injuries were the stones getting in your shoes and digging into your feet and getting infected. The worst time I had was when I had awful sores on my feet on Cook Islands and would put my shoes back on. He got injured in that football challenge and Ozzy and James and I did that challenge in bare feet and didn’t get hurt. I got hurt in that [later] challenge because of the terrible mud.

RNO: What exactly happened?

Jonathan: I don’t know what happened. They were not able to capture it on film. I have no memory of it. We did the challenge successfully and then were off [the course] and then my leg hurt with a big puncture and blood pouring down.

RNO: Do you think more could have been done to avoid contestant injuries?

Jonathan: This is a very touchy subject for me. No. I think they do an extraordinarily good job – this is the first season this has happened. There were a few other people taken out because of injuries [in Survivor history]. I think I’m the first due to an injury due to a challenge. It sounds like Chet got injured in a challenge as well. I think people who design these challenges are clever and smart, they don’t want anybody to get hurt.

They have a dream team out there, a bunch of young people running the challenge to make sure it’s fair – it’s a lot of work making sure it’s a fair game. But what they constantly learned was the dream team is not playing for a million dollars. So it would take 40 minutes [for the dream team to run through a challenge] and we would go and take two minutes, or vice versa. In the football challenge, the dream team did it quickly enough that they told us initially it was going to be best of three. Thirty minutes or so into that challenge, they said let’s vote – do you just want to do it once? That took 40 minutes. The dream team keeps them safe, I think it was just fricking bad luck or the rainy season. Things happen.

RNO: Going back to the beginning, what was your strategy coming into the game?

Jonathan: I knew that I wanted to work with – I had to find a set of allies out there. I did not, rightly or wrongly, trust Parvati. I did somewhat trust Ozzy, but I quickly saw a common ground – Yau-Man and I were working together. Eliza and Ami came to us within an hour of hitting the beach. That made a lot of sense to me. I really did believe Parvati, Ozzy, James, and Amanda would work together.

I guess there was some fantasy that Parvati and I could work together in a way nobody could suspect, but I saw that was not going to work – there was too much distrust. The four of us needed to pull in one other member. We pulled in two other members.

But then Jonny Fairplay lost his mind and had to get voted out, which was shocking and disappointing. I begged him to stay. He said, “you don’t need me, you’ve got five.” It was too tight a margin for my comfort, but what was I going to do? The man asked for our vote and we thought he was going to quit. So we didn’t vote Parvati and we voted for him.

Then the margin was five to four and Cirie and Yau-Man had a secret thing going. She felt betrayed and flopped away from him to get rid of Yau-Man. Once the flop happened and the mix-up, I found myself in a strong position. My leg notwithstanding. I think I would have gone very far in the game.

RNO: What was that about a secret thing between Cirie and Yau-Man? We didn’t see that and Yau-Man didn’t mention it to me when I talked to him.

Jonathan: I can tell you what my understanding is. I did not see this and maybe they’ll get mad at me for saying it. She told Yau-Man of the four clues and they were going to share the idol. He was going to try to get to Exile Island next and they would share it to the end. He felt he needed to distract the rest of us from suspecting the alliance, which I never suspected. So he suggested I be sent to Exile Island next – I don’t remember that but she remembered it.

She felt he and I were much more closely aligned than she and him and she decided to target him. Parvati needed her vote desperately so they had a meeting of the minds and found they had much more in common than with us. Of course Ami, Eliza, and I felt betrayed and blindsided. I think Yau-Man felt he had made a mistake and tried to stop her but it was too late. I told her she had no reason not to trust me but she didn’t believe me.

That’s my understanding of it. They may read this and tell you it didn’t happen that way.

RNO: When you saw Chet on TV, what did you think of his injury?

Jonathan: The TV presentation of what happened – Chet was not well portrayed and he’s here to argue with that. I didn’t think he was portrayed well. They certainly didn’t show us the medical team talking to him about his injury. Other people saw him as a layabout who was complaining about a booboo. The idea that he had this infection was not portrayed to us.

Clearly, now I have a totally different perspective. And I totally empathize with that because there is a difference between reality, perception, and reality TV. Chet’s experience is quite different than other people’s perspective on Chet and quite different from how he’s portrayed on TV.

I certainly know for a fact that he was put in the hospital and surgically taken care of and put on intravenous antibiotics – we didn’t meet but I was in the same hospital.

RNO: Speaking of portrayal, do you think your game was hurt by your portrayal the first time around?

Jonathan: Yes and no. People had a perception of me and I had to work against that. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. [When they got to know me,] people were able to see he’s this kind of person, I thought he was that kind but he’s like that. The disadvantage for all of us Favorites was that everybody has a perception of you, except James and Amanda. James and Amanda, I would have played quite differently if I had seen the end of the China season. I didn’t see him not play his two idols. I didn’t see Amanda cold-bloodedly play him. Getting to know them was wonderful and they had an advantage over the rest of us Favorites in that we only saw half their season – and the fans we didn’t know at all.

Was I hurt [by my previous portrayal]? Of course I was. Because I had been portrayed as an antagonistic character. The truth is I do antagonize people because I am blunt, loud, and forthright to a fault.

In my house we yell all the time, we air our problems immediately, so we don’t have many problems. That’s a different way of dealing with the world that makes people uncomfortable, in the same way that not airing problems makes me uncomfortable.

RNO: While you were leaving, you talked about how you were right where you wanted to be in the game – what were your plans going forward?

Jonathan: I certainly saw that if there was an immunity loss on our part – which I didn’t see coming – I believe I would have been able to solidify my alliance and gotten rid of Parvati, then another vote would have been James or Kathy or Jason. Then I would have merged up with Tracy or Erik or Ami on the other side and gotten rid of Ozzy and Amanda, ideally. I could see myself going at least to the final six or seven, probably five. [Chet, who is in the same room for interviews, says in the background, says, “final three.”] I do believe I could have done that. Who knows – you run into a stick and you’re out of the game. My bad luck, Chet’s bad luck is somebody else’s good luck – that’s the way the game works. All props to whoever wins. Running into a stick is as bad a way to go as any other.

RNO: What do you think of Cirie?

Jonathan: I have no problem with her. Cirie and I would probably get along fine at a party. We’ll have coffee and drinks at some point. But she needs to be the center of things. I need to be direct and forthright. Props to her – she’s a very canny player. Am I her favorite person? No. Is she mine? No. Do I need more friends? No.

She needed to find four people who needed her on an emotional level – this is my character analysis and interpretation of where she’s coming from. The five of us were a fivesome of relative equals, intellectually and in terms of power. Everything was voted on, we decided as a group. She didn’t trust the emotional reality of that fivesome, she needed a place where she felt needed and wanted. You heard her say, “they should be cooking my meals and carrying me around.” When people are willing to do that, she’s comfortable. Anything less than that makes her uncomfortable. That said, she’s a hell of a good game player, she’s doing great.

RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you saw on TV that you didn’t know about while you were there?

Jonathan: The insanity on the Fans’ beach. We knew based on the votes that things there were crazy. And how bedraggled they looked because they kept losing reward challenges. The numbers were staying in parity, but they had nothing but a pot, flint, and a machete. We had this bounty and knew what to do with it. Watching the dynamic on that beach was eye-opening to me.

RNO: Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Jonathan: I love Survivor, I love playing. I did it twice and each time I learned a lot of different things about myself. I think I changed a lot both times. I’m very grateful for that opportunity.

RNO: Thanks again, Jonathan! And good luck in your recovery.

Jonathan: Thanks!

And now on to Chet’s interview:

An Interview with Survivor: Micronesia’s Chet
by David Bloomberg -- 03/17/2008

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Chet, and thanks for taking the time to talk to RealityNewsOnline! Starting at the beginning, what was your strategy coming into the game?

Chet: It’s kind of interesting. My strategy was truthfully to be he funniest person ever on Survivor, so that people would want me to stay around. I could see when I came into my game, obviously we didn’t know it would be Fans vs. Favorites, I picked up that I was on the stupidest tribe ever besides Tracy and Kathy – and I’ll throw Erik and Alexis a bone. Tracy and I were told one of us were going because we were the oldest. We took Kathy in with us which was wonderful. Our strategy was to stay a threesome, three votes always going the same way. People wanted us to stay because we didn’t care who we voted for as long as it wasn’t one of us, so if somebody was organizing a coup, they would come to us. And to the shock of pretty much the entire nation, I stayed on until the seventh.

RNO: You don’t seem like a very physical guy, and yet you’re a fan of the show so you know how it can get – what was your plan to overcome any possible physical liabilities?

Chet: I’m going to correct you. I would not say I’m not a physical person, I’m not an athletic person. Was I ever big in sports? Absolutely not. Did I hate gym class? Absolutely I did. Could I outwit people? Absolutely. I coached pageants and I have the best track record. I could read people. Like I told even Jeff, everybody who was praised for their physical abilities, they went before I did. So maybe they didn’t read that Survivor manual and I did.

RNO: When I talked to Joel last week, he said he thinks you’re a great guy who understands the game of Survivor. But he also said he doesn’t think you did a single thing to get yourself as far as you got. What do you have to say to that?

Chet: Just look at him, what does that tell you? Can you look up the word “neanderthal” in the dictionary? Let’s discuss Joel. If there was anything I could not substitute for him with a draft horse, he was out of his league. I’ll stop there.

RNO: Why did you decide to not go along with Tracy's plan? You could have done it, then withdrawn immediately after the vote.

Chet: Because I didn’t want to be withdrawn. I wanted to be voted out. My injury was not as serious or life-threatening as Jonathan’s. They wanted to pull me that morning. I asked if I could try that morning. If we could not win, I could go that way [through Tribal Council]. They asked, “then you’re going to throw the challenge?” I said, “You haven’t been watching us.” It worked out the way I was hoping it would. After it was over, I felt I was the luckiest person in the world. I played and went out without being blindsided or having immediate or quick ill feelings that I wasn’t aware was going to happen, and I liked the people I was with at the end.

RNO: They wanted to pull you out?

Chet: That would be the medical team. My foot was being looked at for the prior five or six days. Actually the last two days – you couldn’t tell, but Jason and I spent two days and two days on Exile Island – that’s when my foot got worse. We were checked over when they picked us up. I know enough about medicine that what they were talking about was accurate. To be brought back into a challenge and find out that Jonathan had left due to his injury, a light bulb went on and I knew to get my act together. And I chose to be voted out by people who for once were nice to me.

RNO: What exactly what wrong with your foot?

Chet: Jonathan had an open wound, mine was encased. A piece of coral was in my foot – the infection was in my foot. I was on oral antibiotics. In that climate, you need intravenous antibiotics. What I knew was I needed to open up my heel, which is why I asked Cirie for a fish hook to open it myself. I’ve done that before. I could tell I needed to get that pressure out of there. The next day I did have surgery on it and was on intravenous antibiotics for ten days. [Note: For those of you who might still be doubting Chet, Jonathan confirmed in my interview with him that Chet was indeed in the same hospital as him and went through what Chet described.]

RNO: Why did you vote for Erik?

Chet: Number one, Tracy and I made a pact we would never vote for each other. In the past, Erik had told me he was going to vote for me because he didn’t want to go against Joel. So I just returned the favor – we told him we’re voting for you because we felt that we should. We knew he would not get voted off. When I voted, I said he’s a class act. He can scoop my ice cream any time.

RNO: And why did Tracy also vote for Erik?

Chet: Erik was aware that was going to happen.

RNO: Do you feel that you quit the game?

Chet: I don’t feel I had a choice. I wouldn’t say I quit the game – no matter what I was going home that night. I was going home with the medics if they came and pulled me – the medics told me that. It’s a misfortune. Luck is either with you or against you. I’m not as strong a player as Jonathan, but I could have hung in for at least another one, Jonathan probably ‘til the end. There was definitely luck in everyone else’s favor that we went.

RNO: Did the medics essentially tell you the same thing they told Jonathan?

Chet: It wasn’t life-threatening like Jonathan’s, but it was very painful. It needed to be opened up, and an open wound in those conditions would have turned into something like Jonathan’s. They had to open it up in much more clinical surroundings.

RNO: How badly were you beat up in being dragged around by Joel in last week’s reward challenge?

Chet: I’m going to say it wasn’t as bad as it looked on TV. It hurt like hell. It just didn’t – it wasn’t something I expected. I was very angry at him as much as he was with me because he didn’t communicate the second time. I truthfully feel that’s what got him voted out that night – the rest of the tribe saw what he did and I don’t think they approved. Even the tribe I wasn’t on wasn’t happy with what he did. Fortunately I wasn’t hurt. Joel and I talked and we’re friends and that’s behind us.

RNO: What did you notice as the biggest difference between watching the game on TV and actually being there?

Chet: A couple people I didn’t really care to see naked that I did. Probably thing people don’t realize on TV – it’s how conditions affect your ability to play the game. You lose sleep, your appetite – but there’s nothing to eat anyway. It’s what it looks like, but only worse.

RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you saw on TV that you didn’t know about while you were there?

Chet: You don’t know what everybody’s saying about you – that doesn’t bother me. That’s a big one out there. People ask me, after seeing what others said, “Don’t you hate so and so”? I can say no for two reasons. We were playing a game. It’s a giant board game with the board is an island. And people talked about me all my life, and you get a hard shell against it. If they don’t like it, that’s their problem.

The one thing that did bother me is that we were portrayed incredibly wrong. We built a shelter because after four days we still didn’t have one. We used our intelligence to build a shelter to keep us semi-dry. We were then ridiculed for pulling ourselves from everybody else. We welcomed anybody into that shelter or to help build another shelter. Tracy, Kathy, and I were good people and wouldn’t have turned anybody away.

RNO: Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Chet: People always ask me, did you have fun? From Day 1, fun doesn’t fit into the equation. It was some of the most horrific, horrible times of my life as well as my most incredible, wonderful time of my life. That’s how to describe this particular game. It was an incredible experience both positive and negative. Would I go back again? Absolutely.

RNO: Thanks again, Chet! And good luck in your recovery.

Chet: Thank you very much!

FYI ... Survivor will air on Wednesday this week thanks to basketball.

And it will not air at all the following week.

Well that stinks!

TONIGHT 8:00 PM (EST)

Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, its Wednesday, (Yes I said Wednesday! It’s that time of the year again for the NCAA playoffs. A.K.A. March Madness) and that means its time once again for your:
SURVIVOR PING!

The New Airai Tribe: Orange Buffs
Alexis, Eliza, James, Jason, Kathy. Parvati, and Natalie

The New Malakal Tribe: Purple Buffs
Amanda, Ami, Cirie, Erik, Ozzy and Tracy

The Losers:
Jonny Jackass, Mary, Yau-Man, Mikey B., Joel, Jonathan, Chet

The title for tonight’s episode is “Like A Wide-Eyed Kid In The Candy Store.”

SeeBS website teasers:
One proud Favorite takes an eager Fan under his wing, causing others to worry about the tight bond forming. One Castaway, terrified of water, is tricked by another into going on a long boat ride into the middle of nowhere. Pissed and annoyed, this castaway vows vengeance! One Castaway attempts an unusual method to gain contact with her loved ones and comes to a dramatic realization in the process.

TV Guide closeup:
The line between "fans versus faves" blurs even more when one of the veterans takes a newbie under his wing, while a water-phobic castaway falls prey to the oldest Survivor trick in the book: trusting another player.”

SeeBS Press Release:
Harsh conditions and heartache leave one castaway questioning their will to continue the game, on “Survivor: Micronesia – Fans VS. Favorites.” On a special night Wendesday, March 19, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT

Now for those who don’t want to have tonight’s episode spoiled then hit your back button now.

Otherwise, start highlighting at the - - > below:

- - > We know from last weeks TV Guide article that two more players leave the game this week. One player is evacuated due to medical reasons and one player is voted out at tribal council. Also, from the same article, we know that New Malakal wins the reward Challenge. (Ozzy and Amanda have a hot steamy shower scene.) So . . .

The title of the Reward Challenge is “Money Roll”. The object of the challenge is to roll a large round stone through a set course, blindfolded. The stone has a hole through the middle with a pole through the hole. Two blindfolded players are on each side of the stone while another player verbally guides them through the course. The first team to navigate the course wins the reward of soap, shampoo and letters from home. New Malakal wins this reward sending Kathy off to exile island. While there, Kathy looses it completely and in an attempt “to gain contact with her loved ones” tries to cut off a couple of her fingers. This prompts the medical team to remove her from the game.

The Title of the Immunity Challenge is unknown at this time. The object of the challenge appears to be another water/puzzle solving challenge. A player swims out to retrieve some puzzle pieces, while the remaining tribemates “reel him/her in” with a large spool type crank machine. Once all the puzzle pieces are safely ashore (along with the swimmer) the tribe to assemble their puzzle first wins immunity. Even though New Malakal has Ozzy as their swimmer, New Airai has James strength. New Airai wins the Immunity Challenge, sending New Malakal back to Tribal Council.

Well, there you have it:
CUZ’S WEEKLY SURVIVOR PICKS!

- - >
Reward Challenge Winner: New Malakal
Immunity Challenge Winner: New Airai
Removed from the game: Kathy (medical evacuation)
Removed from the game: Tracy (voted out at Tribal Council)

I’ll be back Monday morning with a recap. So till then,
Take care,

FReepmail me if you want added to (or removed from) the Survivor Ping List.

Ah, man. Hope your wrong. Can’t say I didn’t expect it.

This reeks.

Kathy’s way of giving Malakal the finger.

And she has Chet to thank for it.

Hope it’s a wrong call but.......

Chet sucks!

Damn. Keep forgetting that’s not an insult.

HAHAHAHA!!

That was uncalled for and funny at the same time.

You're going to miss her raisins, aren't you?

;-)

Hey, I'm a guy. I like raisins. But I also thought this was a better, more interesting player.

Well, survivorfever.net also has those 2 players going home tonight.